Oh, I know, I know, usually the Beatles or Stones, Dead or Led Zeppelin, Floyd or Who, rightfully compete for this imaginary championship. But for brief moments, I crown Journey king.

Often, these flashes come while listening to Steve Perry sing “Oh, baby hold tight” on “Any Way You Want It” or Neal Schon double up his crunching power chords on “Stone in Love” or Jonathan Cain slip into that Cm7 chord change in “Don’t Stop Believin’.”

Last night at the Xfinity Center, Journey hit hard with a few flashes of exceptional, everyman rock glory -- somewhere between the bombast of Van Halen and absurd harmonies of Air Supply, Journey happily wails away. What surprised me was that the band’s latest frontman, Arnel Pineda, provided most of the pyrotechnics -- if you don’t know Pineda’s backstory, watch this.

Sometimes when a group performs without key members, I get distracted with possibly silly questions about authenticity. When Pineda sprinted on stage I forgot those questions.

Cain once called him a mix of Bruce Lee and David Lee Roth, and he’s right, this guy can bounce and kick and spin. But Cain left out Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson and NBA icon Steve Nash. The diminutive Pineda stalks the stage like a cat and charges around like he's crashing the paint and going to the rim. Let me be clear, he doesn't have Perry's pipes because nobody does. But he makes up for any gaps with enormous energy.

The singer struggled early on, but when he dug into the ballads he exhibited great amount of control and range. On “Lights,” “Open Arms,” “Faithfully” and especially “Who's Crying Now,” he seemed to capture every ear in the arena.

For all those ’70s and ’80s lead singers looking for work and talented “American Idol” contenders, Schon found this 48-year-old on YouTube. It's amazing, and he knows it. The guitarist repeatedly flashed Pineda a knowing smile: “Man, this kid’s got it, and I’ve got him.”

Journey’s records are famous for their pristine sound and that perfection can be hard to replicate for guys in their 60s. Occasionally problems popped up -- the band started “Stone In Love” out of time and tune -- but the mishaps were rare.

Guitarist Neal Schon rocked loud and proud. Sometimes a little too proud. Yeah, he can shred, but he's better when he sticks to his smart melodic sense like the slow burn solo on “Who's Crying Now.”

Ross Valory’s bass had its thumping signature thickness. Drummer and Massachusetts native Steve Smith played the role of secret weapon with more innate talent than anyone in the band -- I hear Rush’s Alex Lifeson has stuff for a solo project, may I suggest Smith behind the kit. And keyboardist Jonathan Cain, well, he does what he does, rolling out those iconic piano lines.

I don't think Journey has many more tours in them. But I'm hoping Pineda finds life after this. It only seems fair seeing as he is providing most of the life in the band now.